


Limerence

by orphan_account



Category: Yandere Simulator (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Bisexual Character of Color, Bisexual main character, F/F, F/M, Female Protagonist, Gay Character of Color, Graphic Violence, High School, Lesbian Character of Color, M/M, Male-Female Friendship, Murder, Original Characters - Freeform, Original Female Character - Freeform, Original Male Character - Freeform, POV Female Character, School, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-17
Updated: 2018-11-17
Packaged: 2019-08-24 19:17:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,072
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16646111
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Limerence isn't the same thing as infatuation. Not by a long shot.I know that's the thought that instantly shot to your mind, if you've encountered these words before, but they're not.They're very different. Would infatuation drive someone to kill?No. Would limerence? I guess we'll both have to wait and see.





	Limerence

  Allow me to introduce myself. Sierra Penrose. Pure definition of upper-class citizen. I've never skipped a meal, never had electricity or water cut for the month, never even seen food stamps or coupons in person with my own two eyes except in the movies.

  Don't assume that my life is easy, though. It's not easy, especially when your family is...how do you say? Absent. Yes, that's an appropriate, fitting word. My father, Cecilio, is both a business man and a travel agent. He's been traveling since my mom was first pregnant with me. He still is to this day. The longest amount of time he's ever spent away from home has been eight months. Eight dreadful, harrowing months. The amounts of time are typically random and unpredictable, varying with each country or province he visits and his goals he has to meet.

  This time, he's been given a specific goal. To work all the way across the country, approximately eight hours away from us. To do work that will take a minimum of eighteen months. Eighteen months away from his loyal, loving family. Well, not so loyal. Not so loving. I understand why he leaves so much. I would, too, if I had the opportunity.  
My mom's a journalist. Surprisingly, she's one of the few moms that exist that isn't overly protective of her children. She's quite dismissive and trusting of us, too trusting. That's how my older brother, Ivan, gets away with leading a gang, and how my younger brother, Xavier, gets away with both slacking and sneaking off. 

   Though I know precisely where Ivan goes at night - with his delinquent buddies, probably to do some underage drinking and vandalism - I have no clue where Xavier goes. He's surprisingly hard to follow despite being three years younger than me. Xavier barely turned fourteen last July, I've been seventeen for a quarter of the year now, and Ivan is turning eighteen in the next three months.  
I'm friends with one of Xavier's ex-girlfriends, Holly. Maybe I could ask her for some insight. She always did look up to me in particular, especially since she was an only child raised under a single mom who never allowed her any pets. Holly was always a sweetheart. Xavier never told me or Ivan exactly why he dumped Holly so suddenly, just a couple of days after his fourteenth birthday, but...I just assumed they gradually drifted apart.

  Now that I've given you some history, it's time I tell you about the person who taught me the word limerence. Madeline Marshall. Five feet, eight inches of pure sugar, and I definitely have a sweet tooth. (Excuse the pun.)

  
  I head out of the house with a mouthful of cereal and milk, gulping it down and quickly locating a rental scooter right where Xavier had left it the night before. "Hey, where are you going so early? School doesn't start for another thirty minutes." Ivan nonchalantly munches on a piece of peanut butter toast, calm hazel eyes settling curiously on me. I shift a bit, dismounting the scooter."I'm auditioning for our school's origami club. I thought I told you that," I lie, a confused grin spreading across my lips. Ivan's eyebrows raise. "Oh? I don't remember that." He smirks and crosses his arms. "Sierra, you've never been the best liar. Just break it to me easy. You got a new boyfriend?"

  "No..." I respond, shooting him an annoyed look. 

  "A new girlfriend? Listen, I won't judge." He throws up his hands in surrender. 

  "Still no. Besides if I did, you would just steal her, wouldn't you?" It's my turn to smirk. 

  Ivan's eyes widen. "Harsh. But accurate. It's not my fault I'm a ladykiller." He chuckles and flexes his fingers in a beckoning motion.

  I cautiously head towards him and my gasp is muffled as he yanks me forward and hugs my head close to his chest. 

  "Be careful. You don't have to tell me where you're going, since I don't tell you where I'm going, but...make smart choices, okay?"

  "Okay," I mumble back and he pulls back. "I guess I'll take Xavier with me to-"

  Xavier appears in the doorway, having eavesdropped on the entirety of our conversation. His curly brown hair is unkempt and messy, as if it's never met a brush a single day of its life. 

  "Nah, man, I've got a ride." He confidently flashes a grin at us and tries to waltz unnoticed down the driveway. Ivan holds out an arm to stop him in his tracks.

  "With?" Ivan questions expectantly, quirking a stern brow. 

  "With, you know, Holly and the gang."

  "Holly and the gang? You're in a gang? Not in my Christian household," Ivan jokes, but Xavier blinks a few times at him, utter silence following the usual laughter a joke from his older brother would elicit. I  awkwardly rub my arm and wait for my cue to leave. Maybe this is it?

  "Anyways, I want to meet them first. Or else you have to take a scooter, like Sierra." Ivan gestures toward me, clutching the scooter with one hand and allowing it to lean against my calf. 

  "You know there's not another scooter station for a mile down. Those jerks always take them from our street," Xavier grunts in annoyance.

  "Guess you gotta walk. Better stretch."

  "Uh, it's fine," I intervene. Ivan and Xavier both gaze curiously at me. "Xavier, you can have the scooter. I'll...catch a ride with a friend." 

  "Sounds good to me," Xavier says, drawing close to me and snatching it from me. 

  "Manners. Gosh, don't make me sound like Dad," Ivan throws his head back and lets out a groan of exasperation and exaggerated disgust at himself. I let out a hearty, genuine laugh and Ivan's hazel eyes glow i in the soft orange light cast down by the slowly rising sun. 

  "How could you sound like Dad? I didn't know people who are never here even make recognizable sounds," Xavier jabbed back sharply before taking charge on the scooter and flying down the street without another word.

  I wince, inhaling through my teeth. Ivan seems unfazed by the bitter remark. 

  "Xavier didn't even eat. Will you make sure he eats at school? I've got some...business to take care of." He winks at me on the word "business". Gang issues. Of course. He knows I know. 

  "Xavier's not here, you know you can just tell me. What is it this time? Gang war? Theft? Legal problems?" I lower my voice, glancing around before leaning in to jokingly mutter, "Drugs?" His hazel eyes blow  wide and my breath hitches in my throat before he bursts out laughing. 

  "I'm not that type of gang leader," he chokes out between uncontrollable guffaws. I smile in relief and guffaw with him. We're left in calming, blissful silence before a convertible pulls up and honks its horn eight times, easily catching both Ivan's and my attention. 

  Our heads spin around to see one of Ivan's homies at the wheel, a beanie tucked over his shoulder-length blonde curls. Blue eyes meet mine and I face them with indifference. Cold green eyes happen to run in the family. Xavier's the only one in our bloodline to have blue eyes after decades and decades of green. Lowkey makes me speculate if he's adopted or not. Or if Mom cheated...

  "Bye, Era." Ivan places a hand on my shoulder before he leaves, pulling a beanie with special designs and patterns completely foreign and unintelligible to me. One of his friends in the backseat yanks it from him and shimmies it onto Ivan's head. Ivan's right hand man - Cobalt, I think is his name - takes his place in the passenger seat and Ivan takes his rightful throne - the driver's seat.  
An opportunity to pick up on information. Don't mind if I do.

  "Hey, Si, you want a ride today?" Cobalt's deep voice rings out and amusement floods my thoughts, blurring them together.   
I shake off the hysteria and nod, approaching the car. "Actually, yeah. Got room for one more?"

  "Sure. It's your lucky day. Kai's out sick. Or so he says," Cobalt bitterly adds, eliciting laughter from the two strangers in the backseat. I squeeze into the seat behind my brother and he glances at me through the driver's mirror, a smile spreading on his lips. I smile softly back.

  The car takes off as I close the door behind me and lock in my seatbelt. "Girl, what are you doing? We don't use seatbelts in here!" One of the strange boys in the back giggles, his piercing blue eyes instilling a strange inner calm in my soul. Or maybe it's just on account of the fact he looks extremely high.

  "Don't mind Jesse. His mother dropped him on his head as a baby. Or rather, threw him at the wall. I'm Calvin, by the way," a blonde boy with surprisingly feminine features extends his hand to shake mine. A surprisingly gentleman-like gesture for a delinquent/gang member. I giggle earnestly at Calvin's joke and grin crosses his face, warmth shining in his puppy dog brown eyes. He adjusts his beanie, with the British flag on it, and I hold back a snort at the design.

  "What?" His expression grows serious fast. 

  "Oh, nothing, I just..." I stifle laughter, but it's becoming more and more difficult. "Your...um..." I'm giggling out loud now. 

  "Your beanie. She thinks it looks ridiculous," Jesse blurts out from the middle seat and Calvin glares at him, slapping him upside the head within seconds. There's a brief, tense silence and an unwavering stare shared by the two boys before the entire car erupts with laughter.

  "I swear, you all are acting high today," my brother remarks from the driver's seat, Cobalt nodding and laughing in agreement. 

  "So. Is it true?" Calvin leans forward and his eyes yet again meet mine. A pout tramples his sunny, happy face.

  "Do you think my beanie's ridiculous?"

  I gulp. "U-um, no, it's actually quite nice," I finish with a nervous smile.

  His expression breaks and he snickers. "I know it looks ridiculous, Sierra, you don't have to lie to me. But... it was given to me by my dad. I cherish it, no matter how strange it looks, especially considering where we live."

  "How do you know my name?" It doesn't strike me that that's a dumb question until after the fact.

  "Your brother talks about you a lot," Calvin replies with a shrug.

  "I do not," my brother pipes up from the driver's seat, sounding like a pouty child.

  "Yes, you do," Calvin contradicts. I didn't think he had any guts, especially considering his beanie, so I'm pleasantly surprised.

  "Yeah, you do, to be honest," Cobalt chimes in.

  "Don't make me fire you as my deputy," Ivan says sternly.

  Again, laughter ensues and fills the entire car. We pull up to school and my brother parks the car a block down from the school. He locks it and hands the keys to Cobalt before they participate in some complicated hand-shake. I study the pair of boys for a moment longer before I shrug and claim my backpack, heading off without a second glance.

  "Hey! Aren't you gonna say thank you?" Ivan's voice calls out after me. 

  "Nah!" I shout back, playfully holding up the bird and pretending to storm off. As soon as I enter the school gates, hands clasp on my shoulders and guide me to the back of a building nearby. My breath hitches in my throat before I recognize who it is.

  Mae Mendez. Annoyingly kind and cheery founder & president of the school's gardening club. She brought the decaying, abandoned little courtyard back to life by growing vegetables and flowers there. Somehow, vegetables I personally had despised for years tasted...sweeter when harvested from her personal garden. More tolerable than they used to be.  
That's when I had unfortunately suggested she propose the idea of a gardening club to the principal. Y'know, I was just trying to make small talk. But she took it farther. Mae actually listened to me. 

  Of course she did. She always thinks she has to take people's advice or their fragile little feelings will be hurt. My words, not hers, trust me. I don't even know if she's ever uttered a mean phrase or experienced a mean thought her entire life. Childhood and all.

  "Sierra?" Mae waves a slow, gentle hand in front of my face to draw me out of my thoughts. 

  "Sorry," I mumble. "What were you saying?" I allow an easygoing smile to flow freely onto my lips. It's not hard to do around Mae, since she's always smiling. If she can smile 24/7, I can smile for a couple of minutes every day when I see her.

  "I...need your help," Mae confesses, with a pouty expression on her face as if she's a small child who lost her favorite blankie.

  "With...?" I scan her face for any signs of her intentions. She's usually remarkably easy to read.

  "My new crush." The short girl brightens up, her short black hair bobbing lightly as she stands at full attention.

  A small wave of shock passes through me, but I hide it easily. Of course Mae gets crushes. She's a human being, too. Like the rest of us. Maybe.

  "I don't know her name yet, but-" Mae claps her hands together in excitement, puffing out her rose-pink lips, styled with her signature lip gloss she's worn since eighth grade. "She's going to love me! I already know it!"

  Mae dances in circles around me and for a moment I wonder if she considers me her closest friend. We aren't even that close and we've only known each other for two years (everyone else has been familiar for an average of four or five). So if I'm her closest friend, that's pretty sad.

  The bell rings and Mae frowns, the pouty expression returning to her face. "I didn't even stop to get breakfast..." I raise a brow. "Oh, well! There's still lunch to look forward to! My mom packs me the best yogurt! It's fat-free but it still tastes so sugary and sweet..." I tune her out as we walk together to our next class. Her homeroom is right next to mine.

  We whisper our goodbyes for slipping into our respective classes. The late bell rings as soon as I claim my seat and plant myself in it. Social Studies flies by in a breeze, and nobody in my homeroom really sticks out to me yet. They all seem like normal students trying to survive their first year of high school. No unusual hair styles, colored contacts, piercings, or shocking fashion statements yet.  
No attention-seekers yet, either. Which is quite shocking and unheard of at Rosewood High. I proceed to my second class, and stop dead in the middle of the hallway.

  A girl with a thick, curly brown locks is gradually picking herself up off the ground, her knees scuffed on the floor. I offer her a hand and she takes it without looking up at me.  
Her head is still down as she dusts off her floral skirt and then her jacket, each in turn, dedicating time to fix each article of clothing she's wearing. Her eyes raise to meet mine and they're a gorgeous shade of hazel.

  Calm, radiant hazel. Darkening in the center into a leaf-green, brightening to a lime-green around the edges. She's also not too shy; she steadily maintains eye contact with me, a smile forming on her lips. Curled eyelashes blink and I find myself admiring them as well. She tucks a piece of hair behind her ear with green acrylic nails that complement her eyes flawlessly. Everything about this girl is unique and elegant. Even her voice.

  "Greetings." I blink in surprise at the odd choice of words.

  She gives me a dead stare before bursting out in a giggling fit. "That's not how I actually talk. Don't know why I did that, but...hi! Thanks for helping me up, kind stranger."

  She extends a hand. A beat passes. I shake it politely.

  "Kind stranger," she repeats, clearing her throat.

  It's my cue to introduce myself.

  I smile vibrantly. "Sierra Penrose." I give her hand another shake, a gentle squeeze, and then separate. One of my hands fiddles with the bracelets on my other wrist.

  "Madeline Marshall," she greets, flashing me a pearly-white smile with enviably straight teeth. Even her teeth are elegant.

  "What's your next class?"

   It's strange she asks me that, since she doesn't even give me a chance to answer the question. Instead, Madeline shifts to my side, brushing uncomfortably close to me but I don't move, don't say a word, watch with immense interest as her eyes flicker over the green paper in my pocket she's snatched out and is now holding in her hands.

  "We have the same Science, Choir, P.E. and... that's it." Her shoulders momentarily droop but she perks back up. "You've still got one elective to choose by the end of the month! Me too!" She dances around, reminding me of Mae except...this girl - Madeline - is ten times cuter. 

  She's going to be a hit among the popular kids, I'm sure.

  Before I know it, her arm's curled around mine and she's ushering me to her - our - next class. I hear her humming sweetly under her breath, a familiar melody I can't quite place.

  "What's that song you're humming?" I ask in a lowered voice.

  She instinctively lowers her voice to a whisper as well. Maybe out of politeness. Maybe out of intimidation. Maybe just for fun. Or maybe I'm reading into this one action too much. 

  Madeline opens her mouth as if she's going to answer me, and then continues humming, a bit louder. She dances along, her hips swaying as she walks alongside me and leads - or rather, pulls me - to the class a few rows down. We slip in and grab two open seats next to each other. She smiles, eyeing me for most of the class.

  We're left to do a worksheet and we're allowed to ask our neighbors for help.

  "So, what's your story?" She scoots her chair closer to mine, leans in and gazes up into my eyes. I'm taken aback.

  "Well..." I begin.


End file.
